Our house in Yosemite Valley, after a heavy winter snowstorm. It had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and cost only $200 a month in rent--and it had views of Yosemite Falls, Glacier Point and Half Dome. It was tough to leave...

Oakhurst, California, at sunset after a winter snowstorm. Oakhurst is located 15 miles south of Yosemite National Park and an hour north of Fresno. It has a population of about 15,000 people.

49774 Road 426, Suite B. West Coast Imaging's home for 8 years.

Effective January 5, 2007: We have moved to a bigger location at 40094 Highway 49, Suite A in Oakhurst.

The history of West Coast Imaging
by Susan Seiling, Owner

The first inklings of West Coast Imaging began while Rich and I prepared dinner after a day's work at The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Valley. There is nothing like a full belly and a beer to fuel your dreams, and after a bit of talking, we quickly realized we could replace Rich's wages as assistant curator fairly easy by making prints for photographers we knew in Yosemite Valley. Our initial intent was to grow the business just enough to give us some extra cash to invest in more film and lenses for Rich's photography, while also providing him with more free time to explore his vision.

Rich's digital imaging skills and his aesthetic knowledge of photography resulted in prints that surpassed our client's expectations. Word spread, and he quickly became very busy.

One evening in May of 1998, we went for a walk around Yosemite Valley. We stopped in the middle of Sentinel Bridge to watch the river pass beneath us. Rich had just met Galen Rowell at the gallery and Galen was interested in having him make a full exhibition of prints for his gallery in Emeryville. As we stared at the rapids and talked about our future, it became clear that I needed to quit my job as an assistant manager at The Ansel Adams Gallery to help him pursue the business.

God is good.

The business has grown rapidly, and we now boast a staff of 14 amazingly gifted people who are dedicated to delivering the best possible scans and prints. We have developed a very large client base that stretches around the world--98% of our business comes from outside the Oakhurst/Yosemite area and 60% of our business is from outside California.

Through all of the growth and changes, we've remained committed to delivering the very best prints and scans possible. When we feel the need to grow our staff, we hire more people and invest our time in training them in the West Coast Imaging Way. When we see an exciting new printer on the market, we research it--and if we deem it worthy--we buy it. We are committed to researching and implementing the best new processes and print making techniques as they are invented.

We're continually amazed at how our business has grown; the wonderful people we work with every day; and the projects that we've had the opportunity to be involved with. Without a doubt, the most exciting part of my job is talking to our clients, and learning about their passions, plans and dreams. Perhaps it's my entrepreneurial spirit that likes to be fed by like-minded dreamers.

Since we started our business before the birth of our children, I've joked with clients that West Coast Imaging is Rich's and my first baby. And like a child, it has grown to become about so much more than Rich and I. It's compelled us to keep ourselves worthy of our reputation as a world-class digital imaging studio; to share our lives in a meaningful way with our clients and staff members; to provide jobs in an economically depressed area of California; and to create a community where photography is celebrated every single day. Thank you for making the dream of West Coast Imaging a reality.